United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced on April 23 that Joseph Lafferty, a resident of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, was sentenced to four years of probation after being convicted of threatening a federal official. The sentencing took place before U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte on April 20.
Lafferty, age 68, was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. He had been indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2025 and found guilty following a jury trial in January 2026.
According to evidence presented at trial, Lafferty threatened on July 21, 2025, to "get his gun and kill" an employee of the Indian Health Service while in Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota is responsible for enforcing federal laws and advancing community safety across the entire district according to its official website. The office serves as the chief federal law enforcement authority in South Dakota and handles both criminal prosecutions and civil cases according to its official website.
Initiatives led by this office aim to improve public safety and quality of life through law enforcement efforts according to its official website. Established in 1861, it continues work today as a federal prosecutorial office protecting public safety throughout South Dakota according to its official website.
